Celtics guard Marcus Smart once said, “I flop on defense. Your favorite player flops on offense.”
He proved it in Boston’s Game 2 win over the Raptors yesterday.
In the third quarter, Smart chased behind Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam on a fastbreak. While VanVleet made a layup, Smart crashed into Siakam and fell down. Siakam got called for a foul, and the basket was disallowed.
Toronto challenged, and the call was changed to a foul on Smart. VanVleet’s basket counted, and Siakam added a free throw.
Furthering the swing in fortunes, Smart got fined for flopping.
NBA release:Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules.
The incident occurred with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter of the Celtics’ 102-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sept. 1
I’m not sure Smart gets fined if the initial call were correct. It’s reasonable for someone to fall when two players collide while running. Smart drawing a foul and the review process drew way more attention to this play. In slow motion, players appear to hold greater control of their balance than in reality.
That said, Smart wasn’t making a basketball play. He was trying to knock Siakam and accentuate contact to get a call. Naturally falling in the process isn’t a great excuse.
Also considering Smart’s well-deserved and admitted reputation, he doesn’t deserve sympathy here.
This is the NBA’s first flopping fine in the playoffs since Marcus Smart in 2016.
